Robert Morris University - Illinois Team Page
The Robert Morris Women's Tennis team closed out the fall portion of its 2010-2011 schedule with a decisive 7-2 win over NCAA Division I foe, the Crusaders of Valparaiso University (IN) to post their ninth straight win on October 16, 2010, at the Daly Courts in Millennium Park on Chicago's Lake Front.
The Eagles swept all three doubles matches to open the day's action. Alejandra Gamboa (Cochabamba, Bolivia, pictured above at right) and Stephanie Messina (Caracas, Venezuela) beat Valpo's Stephanie York and Jackie O’Reilly 8-5, while RMU's Karyn Emeralda (Jakarta, Indonesia) and Ana Kostic (Herceg-Novi, Montenegro) took down the team of Kristin Zakiewicz and Katie Bilyeu by the same score. Robert Morris won the third doubles match by default to take a 3-0 lead.
Emeralda was a victim of the flu running through the athletic department at RMU--the volleyball team also was down a couple of players this past weekend--and she had to sit out her singles match. Messina was also a little shaky due to the aftereffects of the bug, but she toughed it out only to come up just short in a brilliant match that went to a super-tie-breaker. Valpo's Kristin Zakiewicz came out on top in the final to win 2-6, 6-3, 10-5. Amy Gil (Hometown, IL) fell to her singles match 6-2, 6-0, as Valpo cut the Lady Eagles' lead to 3-2.
Those would be the only points that the Crusaders could garner against RMU, as the Lady Eagles ran the table in the remaining singles matches.
Gamboa was locked in and focused with a clear mission as skunked Valpo's Brittany O’Reilly 6-0, 6-0. Kostic followed that with a near sweep of her own to win 6-0, 6-1. Samantha McQueen (Avon, IN) topped Stephanie York 6-2, 6-3 before the Lady Eagles picked up the sixth singles by default for the 7-2 final.
The Lady Eagles finished the fall slate at 9-1, the only blemish a narrow 5-4 loss to NCAA Division III power North Central College (IL). They will return to action in the spring with the goal of earning their first ever spot in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Tournament.
